SEOUL (THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Advertisements featuring South Korean actor Kim Seon-ho have been taken down following an allegation that the star had demanded that his girlfriend terminate her pregnancy.

The controversy erupted on Sunday (Oct 17) when an online post surfaced in which the author, claiming to be an actor's ex-girlfriend, alleged that "actor K" had urged her to have an abortion. The writer further claimed that the actor's behaviour towards her changed after the abortion.

On Monday, reporter-turned-YouTuber Lee Jin-ho identified "actor K" as Kim Seon-ho, who starred in the recently concluded Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha.

The 35-year-old played Hong Du-sik in the popular K-drama.

While Kim and his agency, Salt Entertainment, stayed mum after the revelation, advertisers quickly reacted.

Domino's Pizza Korea took down commercials featuring Kim. He has also been removed from the company's official social media channels.

Canon Korea and food company Food Bucket have also taken down images and posts featuring Kim from their social media accounts.

Meanwhile, a statement was posted online on Monday by a group claiming to be Kim's fans, asking the public to refrain from reckless speculation. The statement also threatened legal action against the spreading of falsehoods and defamation.

On Tuesday morning, Salt Entertainment, in an e-mail sent to reporters, said it was investigating the post uploaded on Sunday and apologised for "the unpleasant issue" (as translated by Soompi website).

Later Tuesday morning, it announced the cancellation of Kim's media interviews. The actor was scheduled to hold a press conference on Wednesday following the conclusion of Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha on Sunday.

His co-stars, actress Shin Min-a and actor Lee Sang-yi, have also reportedly cancelled their scheduled press interviews on Tuesday and Thursday respectively in the light of the rumours.